What is it that make a dress shirt "nice"??

[Nicola]

Originally Posted by laphroaig

Not surprising. In most cases it is migrant workers doing the menial low wage work. I'm surprised it is mainly Chinese workers working for Prada in Italy. I thought the majority of immigrants there were Turkish.

I think most of the Turks are in Germany.

 

[hendrix]

Originally Posted by superfans124

to that regard, I just came across this "fact" from wikipedia regarding Prada, in which it states "Prada manufactures its wares in Italy, apparently keeping labor costs down by using Chinese laborers at the plants." with references, though not working (so can't be verified ).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prada
so I can't but to start wondering if this practice is true or not, if it is true, how widely has this practice been implemented in the industry, and what are we really paying for. I can't shake it off of my mind, that the tag says "made in italy --- by chinese workers (in small print)".

well, presumably if they're working in Italy they'll be earning, at the lowest, the Italian minimum wage?

 

[instep]

So something made by Chinese hands in Italy is somehow worse than something made in Italy by Italian hands? I've never been able to shake the feeling that a lot of the anti-'made by Chinese hands' sentiment seen here has something to do with some form of latent racism.

I mean, you're after quality, right? Who makes it shouldn't really matter. People forget just 30 years ago, 'made in Italy' and 'made in Japan' was taken to mean that the product was absolute shite. Yes, country of origin can be a pretty decent indicator, but I see statements here on SF with underlying assumptions made all the time - 'oh, it's made in China/Morocco/Indonesia, it can't be any good', or 'they've moved production to China now, quality will definitely take a nosedive'.

 

[blackbowtie]

Originally Posted by TrojanGarb

Pay attention to the shirt, not the tag

+1000. I for one still don't understand the geographical snobbery that I sometimes encounter on the forum. Why does it matter where a shirt is made as long as the quality control and processes involved in making it are the same? If Thomas Mahon moved to China and realizes that he can charge less for a bespoke suit because the cost of living in Chongqing is lower, why would the suit that's made in China be of a lesser quality? It's still a Thomas Mahon suit, non? Same goes with Prada shirts etc. as long as the quality is the same...

 

[mkarim]

Originally Posted by Twotone

Chicks dig it.

Twotone

I am not sure if they dig good, quality clothing. They just seem to recognize the fashion brands, regardless of quality.

 

[anon]

Originally Posted by StopPolloition

The quality of the stitching, single needle stitching, pattern matching on certain areas unless there is shirring, quality of the buttons/sewing of the buttons, type of fusible used in the collar or sewing of interfacing, butterfly or reinforced gusset, certain parts attached by hand (this is not that important to me). Of course there is a law of diminishing returns, to some people the difference in quality between a $30 shirt and $300 shirt isn't 10X. I try to stay somewhere closer to the middle.
Just curious, in day to day wear, how does single-needle stitching differ from some kind of machine stitching? Those may be things you look for as signs of quality or craftsmanship, but how does it actually affect the integrity, quality, or wearability of the shirt?